Bone
by Stunna13
Summary: I've been thrown on the streets. Discarded like trash. Treated like dirt. It turned me cold inside; until there was nothing left inside of me except ice. This is my story. Based off of Ann Martin's 'A Dog's Life.'
1. Chapter 1

**Started writing this for NaNoWriMo and decided to publish it. After the third chapter, updates will be slow. This is just a side project. Based off of Ann Martin's 'A Dog's Life.'**

My brothers and sisters don't remember as much as I do. They don't remember our mothers perfectly white fur as we nestled into her in that cramped cage. They don't remember the big man with the angry face as he yanked mother out of the cage and tossed her aside. They don't remember the way he picked us up, one by one, and dumped us in a small box that barely had room to move.

They don't remember the angry man carrying us to his big transportation device that I later learned was called a car. They didn't remember as he roughly shove us on one of the seats and started driving. They didn't remember the words he said; the names he called us.

Mutts.

Worthless.

Pathetic.

He drove for so long. He drove until the sky grew dark and the scenery changed from tall green trees and blue skies to yellow grass and lonely plains. He skidded to a stop, roughly unchained himself from the seat, and reached over, picking us up. That part, I remember _very_ clearly.

They don't remember any of it. The first thing they remember is falling, falling, falling and then landing on the painful ground that snapped our limbs and bruised our bodies.

My brothers scream still echoes in my mind to this day, as he hit the ground and a sickening snap filled our ears. The angry man had thrown the box we were placed in, out of his car.

The box fell to the side and the runt of the litter, Shorty, tumbled out. He stayed out in the cold as we all crowded around Jack as he whimpered pitifully as he lay on his side. His leg was bent at an awkward angle.

Jack cried all day for the next few days as we huddled in that box. The only time we wasn't whimpering and yelping was when the pain was so great that it made him pass out. With Jacks injury, we couldn't try to go find better shelter and we were too young to even consider leaving him to die.

As for Shorty, he stayed outside of the box, sending hateful glares at Jack like it was his reason he was out in the cold, even though we tried coaxing him back in. He even tried howling out, begging for us to come tend to him, but from what we could see, Shorty was not injured and Jack needed our help. So we stayed out.

After days of waiting, hungry and cold, help finally arrived. We weren't even really waiting for a saviour, we just knew we couldn't help ourselves. Our help came in the form of a little girl, who was 'running away' as we later found out. Apparently a lot of human children her age did that.

When she saw us, her little hands went to cover her mouth and she paused only a moment before rushing to our help. She was holding a bag that fell to her side and was soon forgotten as she carefully picked Shorty up and tucked him in her shirt.

It didn't take her very long before she realized that one of us was injured. She carefully picked up the box and slowly tilted it so the open end was facing up instead of to the side. She left her bag stranded on the middle of the road, knowing that she couldn't carry both us and it back home.

The girl went as fast as she could without jarring the box too much. Still, a small child is not coordinated and Jack let out a yelp every time the box shook. Shorty was hanging out of the girls shirt, his front paws hanging out of the neckline while looking extremely comfortable.

Soon enough, the girl was scrambling up her porch steps, screaming at the top of her lungs.

"Ma! Ma, get out here quick!" she hollered out as she attempted to open the front door while holding the heavy box that contained me, my two brothers and two sisters.

"Roxanne? What is it, honey?" an older version of the girl stepped out of the house. When she peered into the box, her reaction was much like Roxanne's.

Ma's hand slapped across her mouth as she took a single step forward, peering back into the box again. "Roxy, baby, where'd you find them?"

"Out on the road while I was runnin' away!" Roxanne explained in a rush, "can we keep em, Ma? Please?"

I didn't really understand what she meant by 'keep us.'

Ma still looked dazed as she carefully took the box from Roxanne and led her into the house. She set the box on the kitchen table and called for someone else. "Dave, get in here!"

"What?" A deeper voice screamed from another room, making me cower. At the time, I had thought the voice was terrifying.

"Roxanne ran away!" Ma called back as she one by one, picked us out of the box and placed us beside Shorty on the table. She reminded me a lot of the sweet looking lady that had taken us away from our mother in the first place. It was a bittersweet memory.

"Again?"

"Just get in here!" Ma yelled, "and bring a blanket!"

A large, burly man revealed himself with a fluffy blanket in one hand and a frown plastered on his face. "What did we do to her this-"

Dave cut short when he lay his eyes on us. His frown turned into a glorious smile as he exclaimed, "Puppies!"

It was only moments later that Dave had wrapped all of us, other than Jack, in the blanket and had cozier us up in front of a fire; at the time I didn't know that fire could be dangerous but it was warm so I didn't even think that it would be able to cause destruction in my future. After those days, living with Ma, Roxanne and Dave, I never saw fire as something to find comfort in.

And I didn't exactly stay with them for long.

I wrapped my snowy, white tail around my body and huddled deep into the blanket, letting the warmth of the fire sink into my fur. My sisters, Dewey and Phoenix cuddled up to me and Shorty and Truman up to them.

Roxanne came in, with a bowl of mushed up food and warmed milk and started feeding us until our tummies couldn't hold any more. It was the most we had ever eaten in our lives and the feeling was phenomenal.

Everyone else fell asleep almost immediately, for we hadn't gotten any rest for the past few days and it was a miracle that we were even alive. But I couldn't sleep. There was a new man in the kitchen where Jack lay on the table. He had arrived shortly after we finished eating.

I hadn't been paying very close attention on them at the time, but if I recall correctly, Dave had somehow summoned the man through the black box. To this day, after seeming many of those boxes in different forms (apparently they were called 'phones') I still do not understand what they are for.

I couldn't see what the man was doing but I heard what he was saying, even though he was speaking in a hushed voice. "I've sedated him, but honestly, I don't think he's going to make it through the night."

"What do you mean?" Ma asked.

"The break is severe, he is malnourished and its a miracle that he-that any of them-are even alive. My guess is that they were born in a puppy mill, they're only a couple of months old, maybe six, and if they were any younger, they would have died already." the man explained, even though I understood none of what he was saying.

"A puppy mill?"

"They're like mass breeding grounds for dogs. A lot of the time, the dogs are shoved into cages that are barely big enough to fur one dog. The mills are overcrowded and the puppies rarely, if ever, leave their cages." Ma gasped at that, "Because of this, the puppies sometimes don't develope right and there have been many cases of the dogs having health and mental problems."

Dave cleared his throat before he spoke, "Now what do you mean by 'mental' problems?"

"There's a chance these puppies grow up to be vicious. There's not much you can do about it." the man said. "If they start to show signs of bad behaviour, bring them to a shelter. They'll take proper care of them there."

"Okay, but what about Jack? You said he might not make it." Ma reminded the man.

"Yes, I'll put him on medication and I can give him a cast and neck cone, but just be prepared if he doesn't make it it through the night." the man said. "It's going to cost a pretty penny though, you do realize this?"

There was a pause before Dave answered, "these dogs have been through so much. God knows how long they've been out there. The least we can do is give them a chance at life. We'll pay for the bill."

The man still seemed doubtful about the answer, "Okay, I'll bring this little guy to the clinic and you can pick him up in a couple of days. Have you decided on a name, by the way?"

"I was thinking Jack. We'll let Roxy name the rest of them in the morning. Thank you so much, Dr. Keith!" Ma exclaimed. "I don't know what we'd do without you!"

"It's all part of the job, Mrs. Fenley." The man, Dr. Keith responded, "I'll hopefully see you soon."

"Of course, goodbye Dr. Keith." Ma sighed and moment later, I heard the front door swinging shut.

After the man had let, I finally felt myself start to relax. The fire had pretty much died down and all that was left was hot embers and ash. But I was still laying snug in my blanket.

At the time, I thought that this would be the life for me. I thought I would live forever here with Ma, Dave and Roxanne; sleeping by the fire in a warm blanket, being hand fed food by Roxanne and living the comfortable lifestyle.

Looking back at the time, I wonder how naive I could have been. My life was _nothing_ like I expected it to be.


	2. Chapter 2

Life was easy. Ma, Dave and Roxanne fed us everyday, they held us and cuddled us and after we regained our strength, they brought us out into their field and let us run around with Roxanne for hours until we were all exhausted and collapsed in front of the fire, on top of our makeshift bed.

Jack had returned, wearing something strange on his leg, an something even stranger around his neck. It stopped him from biting the thing on his paw but it also made him run into walls and anything he couldn't see out of the corner of his eyes because of the cone.

We had all gotten collars as well, with little tags that apparently said our names on them. I couldn't read what they said, but Ma, Dave and Roxanne were always calling me Snowy.

But for the most part, it was good. Until Shorty had to ruin it all, that is. I know now that Shorty is not a bad dog, he isn't evil or malicious like I thought when I was just a pup. But at the time, I thought his main goal in life was to ruin everyone's lives.

Roxanne was feeding us by putting pieces of her human food in our separate bowls. I was happily chowing down mine, but Shorty wasn't so happy. He was having a bad day; he didn't get any food that morning because Truman ate it all, Dewey had turned up her nose at him when he told another one of her ridiculous stories and Ma had swatted him on the nose her he chewed up her shoe.

But honestly, who was to know that it wasn't one of our toys? It was so werely shaped and the humans don't wear them inside anyway!

And even though I knew all of that, I still couldn't believe what Shorty had done next.

Roxanne tried pulling his bowl away, "You got more than Phoenix, I need to pour some in her-" she was cut off when Shorty whirled around and sank his teeth into her hand.

Roxanne let out a high pitched scream, followed by a wailing cry as she yanked her hand away from the small, black pup. Shorty let go and took a step back, not really realizing what he had done until I bowled him over.

I was only protecting my owner, but that ended up bringing us more trouble. I stood over Shorty, my teeth bared. My brother looked schooled and scared, but I didn't budge. Instead, my teeth clamped around his neck, not biting very hard but if Dave hadn't shoved me off, there is no doubt in my mind that Shorty would be dead right now.

I tumbled to the ground as Dave grabbed Shorty by the scruff, storming over to the front door and tossing my brother out. All I could hear was him yelp as he hit the ground.

Dave came back and him and Ma started tending to their daughters wound. Ma brought out a small box and set it on the living room table as Roxanne and Dave sat on the couch. Ma started pulling out things that looked like toilet paper from the box and began wrapping he daughters bleeding hand with it.

As for us, we sat in the living room, listening to Dave rant angrily and Shorty's pitiful cries.

"The vet told us they would turn out like this!" Dave yelled, "we should have gotten rid of them before! Now Roxanne is hurt!"

"Dave, calm down, please." Ma begged, "they're only puppies and Roxy loves them. Yes, Shorty bit her but she also tried taking his food away-"

"That's no excuse, Julia!" Dave snapped, "First thing tomorrow morning, I am calling the pound and getting rid of these mutts!"

"Pa, no!" Roxanne sobbed, "no! They're gonna put 'em down, I know they will! If nobody adopts them they'll put a bullet in 'em heads!"

"Roxy, those puppies are dangerous." Dave said sternly, "we can't raise them when we know they're going to grow into monsters!"

"It was only Shorty, Pa! Not the others! Dewey didn't do anything!"

"But Snowy did, he nearly killed his own brother. What makes you think the others won't do the same?"

"Dave, I understand why you don't want those pups here anymore, I don't want them hurting Roxy anymore either," Ma started in a calm voice, "but what Roxanne said is true. The shelter has enough animals there as it is and we can't give them six more puppies to adopt out when they can barely manage the ones they have."

"Yeah, see Pa? Even Ma says they'll put a bullet in 'em heads!" Roxanne cried loudly.

Dave turned to Roxanne, "Okay, first Roxanne, it's 'their' heads. I send you to school and this is what you come back with.." he sighed, "and secondly, you have a fundamental misunderstanding about animal shelters. They don't go around shooting puppies."

"Dave, either way, if those puppies don't get adopted out, they'll be too much for the shelter to handle." Ma reminded him.

"Julia, my decision is final. We are not keeping those dogs."

"We don't have to," Ma's voice rose a pitch as if she were hopeful about something, "we just have to find homes for them ourselves. We can put an ad in the paper and adopt them out ourselves."

Dave hesitated, "Fine. But if one of those mutts so much as touches my daughter again, they are going straight to the shelter. You have three months to get rid of them."

"Yay! Thank you so much, Pa!" Roxanne cheered and raced from the couch to Dewey, scooping her up in her arms and whirling her around. "Dewey, we have three more months together! You aren't gonna be shot in the head!"

While Roxanne cheered and Ma and Dave started having a hushed conversation, still sitting on the couch, I noticed something. Shorty's howling had stopped and there wasn't so much as a whimper coming from outside.

Thinking he had fallen asleep, I trotted over to the seeing hole in the side of the house. It had an invisible wall over it but it still made me able to see outside. I peered out the seeing hole and looked at the place where Shorty should have been. Instead, I saw nothing.

I let out a low bark, trying to tell Ma or Dave that Shorty wasn't there anymore but they were too caught up in their conversation to notice. My brothers and Dewey noticed however.

Jack limped over to the seeing hole and tried to put his front paws on the edge of it so he could see outside easier. But since his back leg was the one that was injured, he wasn't able to balance and tumbled to the floor.

Phoenix and Truman quickly took his place, however and peered out of the seeing hole as well. It took them a moment to realize what-or in this case, who- was missing but when they did, they started barking like crazy.

"Be quiet, pups!" Dave snapped but we didn't stop barking. I wasn't particularly heartbroken that Shorty was gone; I had never really liked him. But I knew that the humans would want him back.

Ma stood up and walked over to the seeing hole and looked out as well. When she saw who was missing, she gasped and whirled around to face Dave. "Shorty is gone!"

Dave stood as well, "What do you mean he's gone?"

"He's not there anymore Dave, he must have wandered off! We have to go look for him." Ma pleaded.

"Roxanne, grab your coat, we're going to go look for Shorty!" Dave ordered and Roxanne glanced up from where she was playing with Dewey.

"But what about the others? What if they wander off as well?" Roxanne asked.

"We'll keep an eye on them."

Soon enough, we were outside, sitting on the porch as the humans called for Shorty to come home. Actually, I was sitting on the porch. Everyone else was looking for my brother.

I couldn't care less if he was gone, he was the one who would make us love this beautiful life of laying by the fire and playing in the fields. He could be dead for all I care.

I watched them for hours; Dewey was trailing after Roxanne, Phoenix and Truman were sniffing around the house, looking for traces of Shorty, and Jack was trying to follow those two, but he kept on falling and after a while, he just couldn't keep up with them and ended up laying down in a heap of despair.

Finally, when the sun started to go down and it became too cold for us to search anymore, we were brought inside. Roxanne seemed heartbroken that Shorty might not be coming back; when she was inside, the first thing she did was pick up Dewey and carry her to her room. From there, I could still hear her sniffles and muffled sobs.

I curled up on my fuzzy blanket next to Phoenix and she took one look at me before standing up and moving away from me. It took one look in her eyes to know what she was saying.

It was my fault that Shorty was gone. I made him feel unwanted, I made him leave. And to top it off, I didn't even have the decency to help look for him.

That night, no sleep came to me. My chest was filled with anger and hatred. I hated Shorty for causing this whole mess, I hated Dave for throwing Shorty out the door, and I hated Phoenix for blaming me for it all. That night, I just wanted to lash out at everyone.

I wanted to sneak up to them as they slept and bite them until they bled. I wanted them to see who was the strong one. I wanted to show them all what I was capable of.

But in the morning, my anger hadn't gone away. I still despised them, and for once, I was actually slightly thankful for what Shorty had done. Because if he hadn't bitten Roxanne, then Dave wouldn't have wanted to get rid of us.

And then I would have never been able to leave that place where all I felt was anger.

The next morning, we went out searching again, and once again, I sat on the porch, watching as my siblings made the pointless effort to find Shorty. Today, however, we didn't look as long. It seemed as if Ma and Dave had given up hope.

Shorty was gone.

Once again, Phoenix shot me that look. That disappointed look that made my blood boil. This shouldn't have made me as mad as I was. My litter mates had done plenty of things that made me angry, from Truman eating my food, to Jack making us have to go inside because he couldn't go very long on his leg.

But for some reason, this hatred was so much more powerful than anything I had ever experienced. Maybe it was because I had never been a disappointment before, or mabe because I felt like that disappointment was wrongly placed.

But that spark of fury slowly burned into a wildfire. And that wildfire destroyed everything in its path, showing no mercy for anyone.

I stormed around the house, keeping my tail low and ignoring everyone who tried to make contact with me. I didn't join them in play, I didn't eat at the same time as them and often I missed feeding times all together because my hungry brothers and sisters ate my food.

And when the strange people appeared at the house one day, I did not run p to greet them like my siblings did. I merely sat on my blanket, with my white tail wrapped around my paws and my fur laying flat.

It was a tall man with long, long arms and long, long legs. He had a bright white smile but dark skin, much darker than Ma, Dave and Roxanne. His voice sounded different, like he wasn't used to speaking the human language.

"I am heading back to Bali in a few days and I bring puppy with." the man said.

"Are you sure you can bring them with you? I thought airports had rules against that?" Ma questioned and glanced uneasily at Dave.

"I have own plane." the man smiled, "I bring whatever I need."

"I see, well then come meet the puppies." Dave grinned. He seemed happy about something. His usual smile was replaced with a mischievous one when the man said 'own plane.'

Dave picked up Truman, "This is Truman, he's our biggest of them all, probably because he eats so much. He's rambunctious and a bit of a troublemaker. He's always stealing the other pups food." Dave chuckled and the man laughed along, although he didn't exactly look impressed.

Dave seemed to notice the look in the mans eyes and set Truman down, he pointed to Phoenix who happily greeted Truman by licking him on the snout. "That's Phoenix. She's Truman's best friend and the two are inseperable. She's probably the most mature of the six- I mean five."

"I wouldn't want seperate them." the man said, "I only want one puppy."

Ma introduced Dewey next as loving, sweet and compassionate but Roxanne quickly butted in and told the man that she poops on the floor all the time. Ma shot her a glare but moved onto Jack.

When the man saw Jack, his whole face lit up and he leaned down and scooped my brother in his arms. "Hello little one." Jack responded by licking him on the face and the man laughed loudly.

"That's Jack." Roxanne said and Ma looked at her worriedly, as if she was about to ruin his chances at being adopted as well. "the vet said that he was gonna die but he lived! The vet also said he would be crippled forever but that's probably not true too."

"Well, the vet is probably a very stupid man." he stranger chuckled, "this ones a fighter, that's for sure."

"Would you like to meet Snowy before you make your decision?" Ma asked and the man nodded, but didn't put Jack down. Ma led him over to me and I sat up straighter, hoping to impress him. "Snowy is a very...protective dog. Even though he's only a few months old, he is the type of dog who would kill if it meant protecting his owner."

The man wasn't even paying attention though, he was too busy tickling Jack to even bother with me. I let out a low growl that went unheard by everyone.

"I made choice." the man grinned, "I bring Jack home."

"That's great!" Dave smiled, "I knew Jack would be perfect for you. Why don't you come into the kitchen so we can discuss his medication and how to care for him properly?"

"Yes, yes. Of course." the man reluctantly set Jack down and followed the other humans into the kitchen. I could hear what they were saying but didn't understand any of it. But all too soon the man and my family had come back into the room with a big box, full of toys, food and other things that Jack used.

The man picked up Jack and stared straight into his eyes, "Are you ready to come home?"

Jack gave a bark of response and the man chuckled. "Good."

Dave helped the man carry the box to his car while he held Jack. I ran to the seeing hole and looked out, watching as Jack was placed into the car and then the man joined him. I watched as the car drove away, disappearing into the distance.

I didn't understand what was happening at the time, I thought it could have been like the time Dr. Keith took Jack but little did I know, I would never see Jack again. To this day, I don't know what happened to Jack. He was just...gone.

And my brother and sister soon left as well. Truman and Phoenix left next, to a family with three kids, and many more people came to look at me and Dewey as well. Dewey wasn't getting adopted because Roxanne kept on saying things that made the strangers look unimpressed.

But for some reason, I just couldn't get adopted. Was it because I didn't play like my brothers and sisters? Because my white fur wasn't as pretty as theirs? Or because whenever someone came, I always somehow manage to snarl and bark?

But finally, someone came along. They were old, much older than Ma and Dave. Their legs were stiff and their hair had turned white. When they came, I trotted up to them and watched them curiously. They walked so slow...

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Cartwright, it's nice to see you." Ma greeted them.

"Yes, you too dear." Mrs. Cartwright didn't look very happy to see Ma, judging by the way her nose turned up and she sauntered by.

"We are looking for a puppy that will protect us from burglars. We had a break in just last week and we realize that could have been avoided if we had someone to warn us." Mr. Cartwright explained.

"Ah, I know the perfect match." Dave smiled and started walking towards me. He picked me up and carried me back to the couple. "This is Snowy, he's protective and loyal. The perfect guard dog."

"Hm, not a very attractive one, but I guess he will do." Mrs. Cartwright sighed. "We'll bring him to the groomers and I'm sure they can do something with him."

"Right.." Ma didn't look like she liked these people. "Well, we can give you him today with all his toys-"

The man looked at the slobbery tennis ball at his foot, "No thank you." he said distastefully. "All we want is Snowball. Nothing else."

"His name is Snowy..." Roxanne muttered under her breath, quiet enough so the Cartwrights couldn't hear.

"Anyway, would you like cheque or cash?" Mrs. Cartwright asked, pulling out a strange, chew toy looking thing from her bag. Before anyone could answer, she spoke up, "Cheque it is then."

The old woman started scribbling something down on a piece of paper and handed it to Ma. "Pleasure doing business with you, dear."

Dave hooked a leash to my collar and handed it to the man. _What? We're they giving me to these nasty people? No, no, no! You can't do that!_

Yet, the man pulled me along, out the door and towards his car. He put me in the back while he sat in the front. I peered out the back through the seeing hole to watch Ma and Dave's sorry looking faces as I was driven away.

My days of laying by the fire were over.


	3. Chapter 3

I hated the Cartwrights.

I hated the way they walked, the way they talked and them just them in general. They chained me to a very small house, made just for me (only it was too small and I couldn't fully fit in) and never let me inside. When they fed me, they gave me tasteless pellets in small portions and they rarely ever gave me anything to drink. Most of the time I had to drink from puddles when it rained.

I was never allowed off that stupid chain. Ever.

Sometimes it wrapped around my neck twice and choked me, cutting into my throat and it would stay like that for days until one of the Cartwrights finally unraveled me. But by then, it was too late and I already had deep cuts around my neck.

I didn't have anywhere to go to the bathroom, so I just had to use the area around my house and after weeks of it piling up, the stench was almost unbearable and soon enough my white fur was stained with it.

But thankfully, the rain sometime washed some of it away and off my fur. It would clean my wounds and gave me something to drink and soon enough, I found myself waiting intently for clouds to fill the sky and the first drop of water to fall.

My only friend was the rain.

That anger that I had felt back at my first home, had returned and this time, greater than ever. The only thing I ever felt anymore was fury, rushing through my body and making my fur stand on end. I wanted to kill. I wanted to kill them.

I stayed like that for months, tied on that chain, with barely any food and covered in grime. And every day, I struggled to get off that chain, yanking and pulling as hard as I could, tugging until I was exhausted. And then I rested and tried again.

I didn't know this at the time, but that struggling was slowly making me strong. It built my muscles and broadened my shoulders. And if it weren't for the struggle, I would still be the size of an underfed pup.

One day, something changed though, and not for the better. It was obvious that the Cartwrights were old. But I never really thought that they would be so old, that one of them would die. But that's exactly what happened.

For a while, Mrs. Cartwright wasn't coming out of the house and Mr. Cartwright usually stayed with her. Even from outside, I could hear her pathetic coughing. But one day, it just stopped. It didn't take me long to smell the death in the air and the absence of Mrs. Cartwright.

She had passed away.

What I wasn't expecting though, was that days after she had passed, for Mr. Cartwright to storm out of the house and towards me. I got hopeful, thinking that maybe, just maybe, he would let me off that chain for once.

My tail started wagging and my ears perked up. Was I going to be free? Could I finally run around and play and chase my own tail like other dogs do? But when Cartwright reached me and I saw his furious expression, I knew that wasn't the case.

Mr. Cartwrights foot slammed into my side and I let out a yelp as I fell to the ground. He kicked me again and again until my side was almost numb with the pain. The chain had gotten caught around my neck again so I couldn't move or hide in my house.

"Stupid mutt! It's your fault she's gone! It's your fault my wife is dead!" he cried.

When Mr. Cartwright finally seemed to be done, and was panting bending over on his knees. That's when I started getting hopeful. I thought that maybe he would be too tired to kick me again, that maybe he would go inside and leave me alone, that maybe I would be done with this _pain_.

But I should have known by now that it was pointless to have any hope in this life full of monsters.

Mr. Cartwright stood up straighter, looking like he was about to go back inside but instead, took a step toward me, lifted his foot high in the air, and with all his strength, slammed it down on my tail.

I let a loud bark of pain which was rewarded by another stomp to my tail. I knew it was broken, about half way down. He had broken it, probably along with a few of my ribs and all joy in my life.

Mr. Cartwright was supposed to be the one to take care of me. To love me like Ma did, to feed me like Roxanne did and be my protector like Dave. He was none of those. Instead he mistreated me, he kicked me and he neglected me. And this was how I would live my life for the rest of my existance.

I bet Jacks owner didn't treat him like this. Or Truman and Phoenix's humans either. Dewey is probably still with the family I had left months ago an I know for a fact that they would never do anything like Mr. Cartwright.

Shorty's life was probably better than mine and I thought he was in a ditch somewhere.

So that night, unable to move, I lay under the stars, whimpering in pain as the moon shone down on me. It took me hours to actually fall asleep but when I did, I dreamt of what my life would have been like if I had left like Shorty.

I probably would have wandered the streets for days, becoming skinnier and skinnier and losing hope in ever finding a home. And then, when I thought all was lost, I would find the perfect human. They would love me and take care of me in my forever home.

That's what I loved to think at least. And all that night, I wished I had just left when I had the chance.

The next morning, I was greeted by drops of rain falling from the sky and lightly hitting my fur, slowly but surely washing away all the blood and grime that had built up on it. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feeling for hours until I was drenched, cold, and clean.

Still, when the rain picked up, pelting down droplets instead of the light shower I had earlier, I didn't try to move. For one, I knew that I simply couldn't, and for two, it wasn't like I wanted to. I wanted to stay there, on the ground, letting the rain soak me to the bone.

I didn't realize how dangerous the rain could actually be until later that night, I was still outside, freezing and loving it, and the storm still hadn't let up yet. Water started to pool in the yard and it was falling from the sky in what looked like blankets, not raindrops.

Water started flooding the streets and people ran outside, carrying heavy bags and throwing them around their house, as if that would actually do something to save them. But the water was quickly rising and people didn't have enough bags to protect them.

"We have to evacuate!" someone dressed in a weird outfit, yelled into some sort of cone thing that man his voice louder. "Everyone in this neighborhood has to evacuate immediately!"

People ran onto the street, clutching their things to their chests and racing to their cars. I watched as Mr. Cartwright ran out of the building and slipped into his car, not even bothering with me.

From the ground, I started barking. _He couldn't leave me! He couldn't let me drown_! I kept on thinking as I barked. But over the sound of the storm and the man yelling into the cone, nobody could hear me.

Soon enough, everyone had gone and I was barking into nothing. Nobody was there to hear my pleas and I was practically dead as it was, the flood would only finish it off for me.

Water rushed down the street and through the yard filling it so that it covered my entire body and the only way I could breathe is if I lifted my head above the water but deep down I knew I wouldn't last long.

I wasn't really scared, or fearful that I would die because at the time, I was fine with death. I didn't want to live in this cruel world anymore if the only thing I had to look forward to was getting kicked to a point where I couldn't move.

But as luck would have it, death didn't come to me that day. All of the sudden there was a loud creaking and the house that I was chained up to started leaning and then paused. The water was past my nose now when the house started creaking again.

And then...

Crack!

The entire wall of my house was ripped of, sending it, and me rushing forwards. With the new freedom, I struggled to my feet but the rushing water wouldn't have it and sent me crashing into the Cartwright's fence instead. It hurt my aching side, but at least I was free.

Water crashed around me but I was able to move my weak limbs enough so that I could get closer to the road. From there, I managed to swim to a small hill that wasn't completely submerged in water and climb up it.

The second I was safe, I collapsed. Adrenaline was still rushing through my veins but exhaustion quickly overcame that feeling and I closed my eyes for a second, letting all of my other senses fade as I fell into oblivion.

I didn't wake up until much, much later. Only then, I wasn't on top of a hill, surrounded by water. I woke up to the sound of voices speaking.

"Found him after the flood, I did." a man explained, "the bugger was just layin' there, waitin' to get drown."

"So you've never seen this dog in your life?" a woman asked. It sounded like they were the only two people there, though I could hear the whimpering of other dogs.

"No ma'am," the man repeated, "Like I said, I was helpin' out after the big flood and found him, just layin' on the side of the road."

The woman sighed, "I understand. This poor dog is in terrible shape, he has broken ribs, a broken tail, multiple health problems that we are going to have to treat him with and no to mention he is extremely underfed for a dog his size."

"So what're ya thinkin' then?"

"At first I thought he was a stray but the vet said he had a collar and was chained up to what used to be the wall of a doghouse." the woman explained, "it looks like he's been badly abused and judging by his shape, over the course of close to a year."

"Do ya know what his name is? It's on the collar, I reckon."

"He did have a tag but it was too badly scratched to read. The only letter we could make out was an S. We will have to give him a name I guess."

That was when I faded back into unconsciousness. When I woke up for the second time, I was in the same place, only I was feeling much better and there was no one around me, other than dogs of course.

I was in a large cage which had a crate, a water bowl, a food bowl, some toys and a fluffy bed for me to sleep on. Around me, there seemed to be at least twenty other cages, just like mine, holding dogs of all shapes and sizes.

I slowly stood to my feet. After days of not moving, it felt strange to be able to stand again. It was a nice kind of strange though.

When I stood, the dog in the cage next to mine started barking like crazy. I turned to face her, my tail low and my teeth bared. She could not treat me like that! All I could think of at the time was about how she'd better shut her mouth before I rip her to shreds.

The little dog barked again, showing her own teeth and the next thing I know, I throw myself against the cage, snarling and barking but all I could see was red. The cage wall shook, almost looking like it was about to crash, but it held strong.

The dog who had challenged me, backed off, whimpering her apologies to me before wheeling around and hiding in her crate. Satisfied, I barked one last threat at her before turning and sitting peacefully on my bed, letting the other riled up dogs, bark and snarl around me.

A woman rushed into the room-which looked more like a long hallway, lined with cages-and looked around at all the chaos. Dogs were barking, snarling at each other and one was literally jumping off the walls. Her eyes landed on me before widening in surprise.

"Jan, get in here, that new dog, Vice is awake!" the woman yelled. I recognized her voice as the one who was talking with the man when I woke up the first time. A few moments later, a small, dark haired woman walked in, looking just as frazzled about the ruckus.

The two started walking to me, talking about someone named Vice. Was that me? Was I Vice? But I thought my name was Snowy? Or some form of that name because the Cartwrights never said it right.

"This is one of the one's brought in after the storm, right?" The small woman asked.

"Yes, this is Vice. Bob Dirkley helped choose a name for him." the other human, an older darker skinned lady announced. She took a step towards my cage and just like that, I shot of the bed, throwing myself into the cage door with snarls and bites. She stumbled back a bit. "It sure fits him."

The last time I trusted a human when they came near me was with Mr. Cartwright and that ended up with me laying on the side of the road, broken and bruised. I wouldn't let this unfamiliar human near me. She had to prove herself to me before I let her anywhere near me.

"Do you think he's too violent to be adopted out? He's been here one day and he's already caused a riot with the other dogs." Jan asked as she calmed down the last dog. It was an annoying little mutt who's bark was high pitched and pathetic.

"I think we need to give him a chance. He went through nearly a year of abuse, he doesn't need to be put down the second he escapes that hell." the other lady said. I didn't know what 'put down' meant but I'm sure I wouldn't like it very much. "I've seen worse dogs be turned into lap dogs within a couple of weeks."

Jan made a face at me, "Rita, I seriously doubt Vice will ever become a lap dog." I bared my teeth at her and took a threatening step forward.

"Give him a chance, Jan. The entire staff knows how to behave around dogs like these and if we all treat him right, he should be fine to start being taken out for walks by volunteers and maybe even get adopted out." Rita managed a patient smile. She reached into her pocket and pulled out what looked like my regular dog food. Only instead of being little pellets of dry food, it was longer and shaped more like a bone.

I sniffed at it. It smelled exactly like the gross pellets that Mr. Cartwright has been feeding me. Huffing, I took a step away from the bone and turned my head. I didn't want to taste that nasty bone.

"Hm, this is a first." Rita muttered as she dropped the bone back in her pocket. "a dog that doesn't like treats."

"Maybe he's just not hungry?" Jan mused as they watched me sniff at my food. More dry pellets. Once again I growled and turned away.

After spending a year choking this stuff down, I didn't want to spend another second near it. I wanted to eat what Ma fed me. She usually gave me scraps off the table or cooked chunks of meat. I always got the most because I was the biggest and could fight the others off for it.

Truman always shared with Phoenix, Roxanne fed Dewey more table scraps than the rest of us, and Ma sneaked my other brothers extra when she didn't think they had enough so it's not like any of us ever went hungry. At least while we were staying with the Family. When I was sent to live with the Cartwright's, I was sure in for a change.

"It doesn't seem like he likes his food either." Rita wondered. At least she was starting to understand.

"He's probably just not hungry. His stomach just shrunk after the year of neglect and it didn't take as much to male him full." Jan shrugged. My opinion of her was dropping. "If he hasn't eaten anything by morning then we have something to worry about but for now, he's fine."

"I know, it's just that his medication is in the food. He's riddled with health problems and even though all the contagious ones have been treated, he still needs his medicine." Rita added but Jan had already left the room.

Rita tried taking another step towards me but my instincts kicked in and I growled at her, my tail sticking straight out behind me. Rita sighed in frustration but backed off anyway, filling me with a sense of pride. "Goodnight Vice." she whispered one last time before leaving the room.

Once I was alone, I trudged to the safety of my bed and curled up on it. The feeling of being safe washed over me and I shut my eyes.

No one could hurt me in here.

**I know that there aren't exactly a lot of people reading this but review if you do! From here on out the updates will be slower.**


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